I had missed this article regarding PR agencies and diversity and the author provides a lot of great insights and information. I do however believe many of the recommendations are already being implemented and that agencies need to rethink their approach as there is still significant work to be done. One point in the research that caught my attention was the lack of consensus on the definition of diversity. So I asked HP Chief Communications Officer Karen Kahn how the Company defines diversity. You see HP has taken a leadership role in this area so I wanted to learn about its approach. Karen said diversity is defined as “underrepresented groups – and as a global organization it differs by country.” What most impressed me about the conversation was the internal focus and how this has been discussed at length internally and that there is consensus. I think HP has gotten it right because for the leadership team diversity is not left to just one person or group within the company and there is a real commitment to look both at how to address internally and with partners and vendors. There’s a reason why it was recognized as company of the year for diversity by CIO magazine last year. I would encourage companies to make sure there is internal consensus and that everyone within the organization understands the definition as well as the approach so that they can engage and recognize their role in this effort.
Talking about HP, last week at Hispanicize the Company unveiled the latest in the “Reinvent Mindsets” campaign. Created by Miami based agency Alma and it is titled #LatinoJobs.
Other news I am following, this Indeed report on the growth of D&I jobs, Accenture CEO discussing gender equality goals, watch what Adweek describes as “Maltesers’ Wonderfully Awkward Diversity Ads,” this Brookings Institution report titled “Black and Hispanic underrepresentation in tech: It’s time to change the equation” and this from the Chicago Tribune titled “Black art spurs gold rush as collector stampede drives up prices,”
ICYMI, here is this week’s Black Panther update from Business Insider: ‘Black Panther’ has made 5 times as much money in the US as any other movie in 2018.
Photo by Ayo Ogunseinde on Unsplash
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